February 11, 1892. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
101 
along with other Dutch bulbs ; and, as this sort is early it is just 
possible that they ought to have been potted some weeks earlier. 
The bulbs of poeticus referred to were cultivated in the garden, 
were lifted immediately the foliage browned, thereafter lying in 
the sun until thoroughly ripened, and about 3000 of the best were 
imported in August. The variety is recurvus.—B. 
Orchids at Allerton Beeches. 
A SHORT time ago I sent a few notes dealing with various 
subjects I saw at Allerton Beeches. I then stated that the Orchids 
grown were of great importance, and promised to deal with them 
again. Last week I had the pleasure of making a second visit, and 
noted many beautiful varieties in flower. First let me 
take the Phalaenopsis. On an end stage in the Cypri- 
pedium house were some twelve plants growing in teak 
cylinders, and all in full bloom, the whole making a very 
pleasing display. Not only were the plants well flowered, 
but the flowers themselves were of remarkable substance, 
unlike some often seen. P. amabile had four branches 
and fifty flowers ; P. Stuartiana, twenty-seven flowers ; 
P. Schilleriana, twenty-five flowers ; P. Sanderiana, a 
pink form of amabile, thirteen flowers ; two plants of 
P. grandiflora aurea, eight flowers each. These were the 
principal in flower, but several others were showing 
well. Not much moss is used to them, and I noticed in 
several pieces of soft red sandstone used in preference to 
'crocks, and with excellent advantage, judging from the 
appearance of the plants. Mr. Edwards does not believe 
in punishing the plants by allowing the spikes to remain 
too long upon the plants. As soon as they are fully 
expanded they are cut and placed in tubes of water 
placed by the sides of the plants. I examined some 
which had been cut a fortnight, and which were quite 
fresh. Most likely this is the secret of the flowers being 
of such excellent quality. 
Other Orchids were Dendrobium Ainsworthi, a pretty 
variety delicately spotted with pink and differing from 
the ordinary type ; Cypripediums Leeanum, villosum 
Maulei, nitens, and callosum, several finely flowered 
plants of Cymbidium Lowianum and Coelogyne cristata, 
Lselias anceps, Stella and Sanderiana, Maxillaria San¬ 
deriana, a fine form of Oncidium macranthum, whilst 
plants of Dendrobium Jamesianum had stout pseudo¬ 
bulbs, which were literally laden with fl jwer. 
The Odontoglossum house is a model of what such 
houses should be. It is below the ground level and 
fitted in a most perfect manner. Hundreds of grand 
plants representing every well-known variety are here 
to be seen, but it was rather early to see them in flower. 
They are pushing splendid strong spikes, and will make 
a capital display later on. Those in bloom and nearly 
so were 0. sceptrum, Andersonianum, Halli, thirteen 
flowers ; radiatum gloriosum, one especially fine variety 
carrying sixty flowers ; Harryanum and Reichenheimi, 
one spike with six branches and forty-three flowers. 
There is also a beautiful collection of Cypripediums 
of all the old and new varieties I mentioned in ray 
last rote, much work being carried on in the hybridisation 
of Orchids and large numbers of seedlings have been raised. 
I had the pleasure of noting the various crosses, and in the 
near future we may expect something startling being sent 
out from Allerton Beeches. Thinking the list of successful 
crosses might be interesting to the readers of the Journal I 
append the following :—villosum X Rothschildianum, callosum X 
Spicerianum, insigne Maulei X Rothschildianum, Lawrencianum 
X Godefroy*, Argus x bellatnlum, Harrisianum superbum X 
Sanderianum, Lawrencianum x superbitns, barbatum nigrum 
X bellatulum, Harrisianum nigrum X Boxalli atratum. The 
first flower out of the large batch of seedlings was in flower at the 
time of my visit. It is a cross between C. insigne Maulei and C. 
venustum pardinum, but it seems rather too much like C. amandum 
to be passed as a distinct variety, Lselia Dayana x Cattleya 
aurea yielded a pod from which sixteen plants have been raised. 
There are also two plants from a cross between Zygopetalum 
crinitum and Zygopetalum rostratum. My conversation with 
Mr. Edwards showed him to be a thorough master eathusiast in 
the difficult matter of the fertilisation of Orchids, as indeed in 
everything else he undertakes, and it is gratifying to learn that his 
employer, Henry Tate, jun., Esq., fully appreciates his efforts. 
—R. P. R. 
CypRIPEDIUM PiTCHERIANUM VAR. WiLLIAMSI, 
When a hybrid Cypripedium receives a first-class certificate 
at the meetings of the Royal Horticultural Society it is a reliable 
indication that the plant possesses some qualities of an exceptional 
character. Of late the seedlings in this genus have become so 
numerous that the members of the Orchid Committee are very 
critical in their examination of novelties submitted to their judg¬ 
ment, and though awards of merit have been frequent, the higher 
honours are rare. 
That of which a flower is faithfully represented in the wood- 
cut (fig. 15) bears the name given at the head of this note, and was 
raised at Messrs. B. S. Williams & Son’s nursery. Upper Holloway, 
between C. Harrisianum superbum and C. Spicerianum. It is a 
particularly handsome Cypripedium, with large bold flowers, having 
a polished shining appearance, and very rich in the colouring. The 
FIG. 15.—cypripedium PITCHERIANUM VAR. WILLIAMSI. 
dorsal sepal is 22 inches broad, rounded, veined with dark crimson 
in the centre and at the base, the lower sepal pale green ; petals 
po ished with dark reddish central vein, the lip neat and of a dark 
tint like the petals. 
In habit it is extremely free, both in growing and flowering, 
and the first-class certificate awarded at the Westminster Dri 1 Hall 
on October 27th is a guarantee that it is likely to become a useful 
plant. 
OPEN AIR PEACHES. 
It is interesting at times to turn our attention to articles 
written by that well known gardener, Mr. Iggulden ; in fact, it 
would scarcely be possible to overlook his name, seeing that his 
contributions are so widely distributed in the majority of gardening 
periodicals. This is the more surprising because his writings 
